David Profumo

Miller’s thumb and Mother-in-law’s garotte: the marvellous lexicon of angling

Chris McCully’s stargazy pie of a book is rich in natural lore and assembled with etymological rigour

‘Trout at Winchester’, by Valentine Thomas Garland. Credit: Alamy 
issue 17 December 2022

Despite its many centuries of popularity – enthusiasts have ranged from Cleopatra to Eric Clapton – angling has been the subject of precious little historical scholarship, giving rise instead to anecdotalists or grim technicians. So Chris McCully’s latest animated and vigorous addition to the Bibliotheca piscatoria arrives as fresh and welcome as a run of summer salmon from the estuary.

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